Street-car fender.



PATENTED DEC` 25, 1906.

V. VLADUTZ-l STREET GAR FENDER.

lAPPLICATION FILED MAY 11. 1906.

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` No. 839.793. PATNTBD DEC. 25, 1906.

V. VLADUTZ.

STREET CAR FENDER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 11, 1906.

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5 to the plates 2 and 3 by a bolt and by straps .presently described in detail and then spe VASILIE VLADUTZ, OF MUNHALL, PENNSYLVANIA.

STREET-CAR FENDER.

No. 839,793. Speccaton of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 1l, 1906. Serial No. 316,242.

Patented Dec. 25, 1906.

T0 L7/Z wwm if Hwy 0040677 y The arms 5 5 and 6 6 of the plates 2 and 3 Be it known that I, VAsILrE VLADUTZ, a have their outer ends held open or spread by subject of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, contact-rods 9 9, each rod consisting of a pluresiding at Munhall, in the county of Allerality of links 10, which are preferably se gheny and State of Pennsylvania, have incured at their meeting ends by a pivotal or vented certain new and useful Improvements knuckle joint. 11. The ends of the rods 9 9 in Street-Car Fenders, of which the following are adapted to impinge against the ends of the arms 5 5 and 6 6 and retain said arms in is a specification, reference being had therein an open operative position. In order that to the accompanying drawings.

said arms can be opened or moved to the This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in car-fenders, and the open or spread position, (shown in Fig. 1,) I provide the plates 2 and 3 with bearings 12 invention has for its primary object to pro- 12, in which are journaled shafts 14 .14.

vide novel means in connection with a car for gripping and holding an object should Vound upon said shafts are chains 15 15, these chains being connected to the arms 5 5 said object contact with said means, such as would occur should a person be accidentally and 6 6 of the plate. Vhen said arms are to be opened and after said arms are held by run down by a car. To this end I have devised a series of spring-arms which are carthe rods 9 9, the chains are detached from said arms. The shafts 14 14 have rectanguried by the front of the car and two rake-like frames carried beneath said car, the latter lar ends 16 16, upon which cranks are placed being operated should the former fail to opto rotate the shafts 14 .14, and to retain them crate or accomplish their purpose. in a fixed position ratchet-wheels 17 17and pawls 13 18 are employed.

, In connection with the above mechanism The plates 2 and 3 intermediate their ends I use certain novel features of construction which, together with said mechanism, will be are provided with 4depending brackets 19 19,

cifically claimed.

The present invention is an improvement upon the car-fender as set forth in my Patent No. 306,604, granted me December 5, 1905, wherein I described a fender of a more complicated construction than my present fender. Consequently simplicity of construction is the principal object of this invention.

Referring to the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan of a portion of my improved fender.. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of one of the spring-arms. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the same, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a locking-bar. Fig. 6 is aperspective view of a part of a car in an inverted position, showing my improved fender attached thereto.

To put my invention into practice, I hinge to the front part 1 of a car two plates 2 and 3, said plates being arranged one above the other and supported by detachable hangers 4, which permit of said plates being removed from said car. Each plate carries a pair of oppositely-disposed arc-shaped resilient arms 5 5 and 6 6, said arms being disposed to lie so as to present a configuration of a semicircle. The arms 5 and 6 are fixed at their inner ends a pair of resilient arms 20 20 and 21 21, similar in construction to the arms 5 and 6 reviously described. Instead of holding t ese arms open or spread at their outer ends by rods 9 9 I provide each pair of arms with rearwardly-extending members 22 22, and `engaging said members are locking-bars 23 23, which serve as detents for the arms 20 20 and 21 21. The locking-bars 23 23 are formed intermediate their ends with projections 24, a convenient manner of forming which is by simply twisting the bar to form an eyelet, as shown in Fig. 5, and these locking-bars are released to allow the resilient arms 20 21 to close by engagement with the projections 24 of the rear ends of headed plungers 25, slidably mounted in the brackets underneath the arms and extending forwardly in front of the arms.

The bottom. of the car is provided with depending side brackets 26 26 and 27 27, and pivotally mounted in said brackets are spring-pressed rake-like frames 23 and 29, each frame comprising a plurality of curved prongs 30. The pivted ends of said frames at the one side of the car are provided with toothed wheels 31 31 and crank-arms 32 32. Engaging said crank-arms is a two-part jointed rod 33, which normally maintains the frames in the elevated position shown in Fig.

8. (See Fig. 3.)

and pivotally mounted upon each bracket is IOC ITO

2. To release said frames, I providethe car with depending trip-levers 34, which actuate a lug 35 to impinge against the rod 33 and permit frames 28 and 29 closing to scoopor pick up a person or object beneath said. car. To lock said frames in a fixed position, pawls 36 36, carried by the side of the car, are thrown into engagement with the toothed wheels 31 31.

In operation should an object-strike the headed plungers 25 25 the locking-bars 23 23 will release the arms 2O 20 and 21 21,'and should the obstaclebe a person said arms will tightly grip the body and prevent the same from falling'beneath the car.- Should the object fail to strike the plungers 25 25, the object-will'strike the rods 9 9 at a point betweenthe arms 5 5 and 6 6, forcingsaid rods rearwardly and releasing said arms, which, owing to their resiliency or spring, close or'movetoward each other at their outer ends, so as to firmly grip the object and holdsame. v Since the arms 5 5 are independent of the arms 6 6, either pair of arms may be actuated without disturbing the other of said arms. Should the obstacle be in such aposi-tion as to -lie out of the path of' both sets of arms described, as the car progresses the ob* staole will be struck by the depending tripping-lever 34, thereby moving the lug 35andl releasing the two-part rod 33 from locking engagement with the ends of the crank-arms 32 32, permitting the spring-pressed frames 28 and 29 to close upon theobject and pre l Vent the same from being dragged under the car. After each operation the arms 9 and 33 must of course be replaced to again hold the parts ready for'operation.

What I claim, and desire to secureby LettersPatent, is`

l. In a car-fender, the combination with a car, of plates detachablysupported -by the l front party oi saidY car, resilient arc-shaped Il arms connected at their innery ends to said `upon said brackets and plates, jointed rods retaining said arms in a semicircular coniiguration, depending brackets carried by said plates, arms mounted adapted to embrace an obstacle, plungers slidably mounted beneath said brackets, means to hold said arms in an extended position, means actuated by said plungers to release said arms, rakeshaped frames piVotally mounted beneath said car and adapted when released to embrace anobstacle, means to hold said frames in aretracted position and means actuated by an obstacle to release said frames, substantially as described.

2. In a car-fender, the combination with a car, of plates detachably supported by the front part of said car, resilient arc-shapedplates, jointed rodsarms mounted uponsaidv retaining said arms in a semicircular configuration,` depending brackets carried by said plates, arms mounted upon said brackets and adapted to embrace an obstacle, plungers slidably -mounted beneath Isaid brackets, means to hold said arms in an extended position,.means actuated by said lease said arms, substantially as described.

3. In a car-fender, the combination with a` car, of plates hinged to the yfront of said car, hangers pivoted to said plates and to the car,

resilient arc-shaped arms carried by the said plates, means to tenporarily retain said.

arms in a semicircular conguration to be released by an obstacle, rake-shaped frames carried by the bottom of said car and adapt- -ed to embrace an obstacle, means to tempo- /rarily hold said arms in a semicircular coniiguration to be stantially as described.

In testimony whereof I alliXmy signature in the presence of two witnesses. i

VASILIE VLADUTZ. Witnesses:

C. ViLosTnRNURM,y JOI-IN STEVENSON.

released by an obstacle, sub-- 

